Q: You write, “This book has a simple message: aging brings strength.” What do you think are some of the most common perceptions and misperceptions about the aging process?
A: We tend to define aging only as a process of decline, loss and disease, with its benefits seen as mere survival against the odds. This definition is realistic but it’s only half the story.
I describe in The End of Old Age how the aging process itself grants a variety of strengths through ongoing growth and development of our experience, knowledge, skills and their integration over time.
Thus, we gain greater wisdom, deeper purpose and heightened creativity because of age. These factors must be seen as a counterbalance to the decline perspective.